Fuel supply device for liquid fuel burners



July 4, 1933. F. F. NEUMANN FUEL SUPPLY DEVICE FOR LIQUID FUEL BURNERSFiled March 19, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l w 4 5 6 a w m a s F. 3/ 8 6 MW 4 L6 6 6 7 g Q 4 F 5 w M M J .i i l f 3 l m" 8 w I w Q": n F U Qt n "I r llf A f I A 5 p r 4 6 6 IF. F. NEUMANN July 4, H933.

FUEL SUPPLY DEVICE FOR LIQUID FUEL BURNERS Filed March 19, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 4, 1933 .UNITED STATES PATNT oFFIcE F.NEUMANN, OF "WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIG-NOR TO THE SILENT GLOWOIL BURNER CORPORATION, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPO- RATION OFCONNECTICUT FUEL SUPPLY DEVICE FOR LIQUID FUEL BURNERS Application filedMarch 19, 1931.

This invention relates to fuel supply devices for liquid fuel burners,having for one of its objects the provision of a container or holder forthe supply device designed to permit the necessary functioning of thelat-- ter while reducing the fire hazard and than gers of leakage andpresenting a neat, attractive and sightly appearance. For descriptivepurposes the liquid fuel herein referred to is oil, although other formsof liquid fuel may be employed.

In connection with self-vaporizing burners, such as those of theso-called combustion tube type, it is usual to provide a supplyreceptacle, replenished from an openmouthed reservoir in liquid-sealedrelation to the supply chamber of the receptacle, this serving tomaintain a constant level of oil in the supply chamber from which oil isfed by gravity to the burner and there vaporized and burned with asuitable mixture of air.

The replenishing reservoir used is frequently in the form of a glassbottle held inverted with its mouth resting in the supply receptacle,the latter with the bottle being supported by an upright support onwhich the receptacle and bottle are vertically adjustable to regulatethe level of the oil with relation to the burner, there being providedpiping connections from the receptacle to the burner.

These parts, the bottle, receptacle and support, are commonlyunprotected and open and exposed to view. This ordinary disposition ofthe supply device is open to several objections. hen an exposed glassbottle or other reservoir is employed it is subject to the danger ofbreakage through an accidental shock or blow. Oil escaping from thebottle through breakage or by leakage incidental to installin orremoving the bottle, or due to leakage from the receptacle, drainsdirectly over the floor, causing an unsightly accumulation of oil andincreasing the tire hazard, which latter is also present due to theexposed receptacle on which an external accumulation of oil cannotalways be avoided. The uncovered disposition of these elements alsopresents an unsightly appearance, par- Sfirial No. 523,910.

ticularly when installed in kitchens or other rooms where finishedneatness is required.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention these objections areovercome by the provision of a container or housing, herein in the formof a cabinet adapted to receive and support the supply receptacle,together with the bottle or other reservoir, and to enclose and protectthe same against injury and conceal them from sight, the container orhousing being preferably provided with means whereby the oilescaping-from the resof the cabinet shown in Fig. 1, with the re-'ceptacle and bottle installed therein;

Fig. 3 is a more or less diagrammatic View showing the relation of thesupply device to an oil burner; 1

4 is a central, sectional elevation taken through the supply receptacleand mouth of the bottle;

Fig. 5 is a section in plan taken on the line 5-5 in 2;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the adjustable supporting bar whichsustains the supply receptacle and the, bottle;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail showing the door holding spring for thecabinet; and

Fig. 8 is a detail in sectional, side elevation, showing the m thod bywhich the top oi the cabinet is raised with the opening of the doors to-fac1l1tate insertion or removal of the bottle.

Referring to the drawings and to the em- I bodiment of the inventiontherein shown for illustrative purposes,and first to the func- 1 at aconstant level and from which it is delivered by gravity to the base ofthe burner 15 Fig. 3) through an intermediate pipe connection 17 andcontrolling valve 19. The burner 15 is represented as typifying any ofthe usual forms of combustion tube burners, the oil gravitating into thebase of the burner from the constant-level supply chamber 13 in thebowl.

A constantly replenished supply of oil is maintained in the bowl by anysuitable means, a common method of accomplishing this being to providean oil replenishing reservoir, air tight except for a delivery opening,the reservoir being supported above the supply device with its openingwithin the latter and immersed in and sealed by the oil therein. Thelatter escapes from the reservoir to replenish the supply chamber underthe wellknown barometric principle, maintaining a constant level thereinas the oil is withdrawn by gravity therefrom.

In the illustrated form of the invention, a replenishing reservoir inthe form of a glass bottle 21 is shown which is placed inverted with itsmouth resting in the bowl (Figs. 2 and 5), the bottle being held in thatposition by means of two resilient arms 23 (Fig. 2).

7 To assist in inverting and placing the bottle in the bowl and removingittherefrom without danger of leakage or spilling the oil, the bottle isprovided with an automatically acting stopper. For this purpose (Fig. 4)the neck of the bottle has threaded on it a metal cap piece 25 having acentral discharge opening which, when the bottle is lifted from thebase, is automatically closed by a valve 27 but is opened for the escapeof oil when the bottle rests in the .bowl.

To effect the operation of the valve, the latter is provided with a stem29 which protrudes, with a suitable clearance, through a central openingin the cap piece and terminates in a head 31 between which and the capthere is provided a spring 33. Between the spring and the head 31 thereis provided a U-shaped rest 35 movable with the stem relatively to thecap. hen the bottle is inverted and placed in the bowl the Ushaped restseats on an annular lip 37 and the bot tom of the bowl serves to supportthe bottle, while at'the same time the valve is lifted and the spring 33compressed through the abutment of the stem head 31 against the bottomof the bowl. The oil within the bottle flows into the bowl until itslevel is sufficient to seal the delivery opening in the bottle cap. Ifthe bottle is lifted for withdrawal from the bowl, the spring expands,causing the valve to close the mouth of the bottle, the U-shaped restmoving with its stem away from the bottle cap.

The oil escaping from the mouth of the bottle flows into the chamber 13around the sides of the segmental or parti-annular wall 39 which isprovided to guide or position the bottle mouth, and, a constant levelbeing maintained in the chamber 13, the oil gravitates to the burner 15through the pipe or supply conduit 17 which is threaded into the bottomof the bowl.

Referring now to the container or cabinet. this is preferablyconstructed of fireproof material, such as sheet steel, externallyembellished by enameling or painting to present an attractive and neatappearance. It is herein shown of rectangular cross-section, upstandingin form, and of a height to accommodate the bowl, bottle or otherreservoir, and also an underlying tank or compartment.

It is herein constructed of a piece of sheet metal bent to form the back41 and sides 43, provided with an ont-turned bottom flange 45 on whichit rests. The front is provided with an upper pair of hinged doors 47and 49 through which access may be had to the bottle and the bowl, andwith a lower pair of hinged doors 51 and 53 through which access may behad to the lower compartment.

The front of the cabinet and the sides are connected by a't-ransversesheet metal bottom member 55 and an intermediate member 57, on which thelower doors are hinged and between which they swing in closing with atight sealing fit. The front of the cabinet is also provided with thevertical marginal sheet metal members 59 and 61 which, with thetransverse members. form the two panels which are closed by the twopairs of doors.

The upper pair of doors is preferably so arranged that the act ofopening them also serves to raise the top 63 of the cabinet, causing itto swing up (Fig. 8) so that the top, as well as the upper front of thecabinet, is opened to provide unobstructed access, facilitating thehandling of the bottle which. when being installed or withdrawn, must belifted vertically as well as moved laterally. As is clearly shown inFigs. 2 and8, the openable side walls 47, 49 and the openable top 63constitute the entire casing structure across the top and side of thecasing closed thereby and at the Zone of meeting of said side and topportions of the casing, and open in such a way as toprovide an openspace continuously extending in said top and side portions and acrossthe zone of meeting thereof. Obviously this special provision greatlyfacilitates vertical and lateral movement of the reservoir duringremoval and placement of the same, and its convenience is furtheraugment ed when theupper pair of doors 47, 49 is. ar-

depending car whichis connected by the.

link 67 to a lug or plate 69 offset laterally from the 'axisof'thecorresponding door, the arrangement being such that, as the. door isopened, the plate 69 moves outwardly, exerting a pull on the link 67 andswinging the top upwardly, as shown in Fig. 8. When the door is againclosed, the top drops down into close fitting relation to the side wallsof the cabinet and to the doors, as shown in Fig.2. lVhen the doors areclosed they are held fast by the door holding device 71 (see Fig. 7)comprising a sheet metal plate secured at the back of the transversemember '57 and having resilient flanged ends which engage frictionallywith the sheet metal walls of each door when the latter is moved toclosed position.

To support the bowl and bottle withinthe cabinet, the bowl is providedwith a rearwardly extendinglug 73 bolted to the bottom of the verticallyarranged supporting plate 75 (Fig. 6), the latter having secured to itsupper end the two resilient arms 23w-hich' resiliently embrace the sidesof the bottle and position the latter in the bowl. Provision is made forvertically adjusting the bowl. and the bottle within the cabinet, thisbeing herein accomplished by means of a bolt 77 passing through the rearwall ll of the cabinet and vertical slot, conveniently located; in itswall ell, through whichthe fuel supply conduit 17 extends from thecabinet to reach the fuel burner, which vertical slot allows freevertical movement of the conduit 17 during-raising or lowering of thereceptacle 11.

Herein in the lower compartment of. the cabinet there is provided asheet metal tank 81 supported on a shelf 83, the open top of. the tankbeing directly beneath the bowl and adapted to receive any leakage fromeither the bowl or the bottle. Preferablythe capacity of the tank issufficient to holdthe entire supply of the full bottle in case ofbreakage of the latter.

To insure the entrance ofany oil which may escape from the bowl or thebottle into the underlying tank, a system of deflecting plates 85 isprovided immediately beneath the bowl, these plates being secured to theback and sides of the cabinet and to the transverse member57andextending for a suflicient distance fromthe sides of the cabinet todivert any, gravitating oil into the tank. A further deflecting plate 87is also preferably secured to the interior of each upper door 47 and 49tofurther insure the entrance of any oil into thetank and prevent itsaccumulation at or about the bottom of the doors.

.VVhen it is desired to remove the bottle, the doors are opened, whichalso serve to swing upwardl the top 63, and the bottle may be readilywithdrawn and a full bottle installed. When the doors are closed theentire supply device, including the bowl and bottle, are entirelyconcealed, covered and protected. The supply device, although enclosedwithin and supportedby the cabinet, may be vertically adjusted thereinand clamped and held in its position of adjustment. Escape of oil on thefloor is avoided and also the fire hazard materially reduced due to thefact that all the oilcarrying parts from which leakage, escape orexposure of oil is possible are entirely enclosed and protected.

While I have herein disclosed and described for the purposes ofillustration one specific embodiment of the invention, it will beunderstood that the same may be embodied in various forms and thatextensive deviations may be made from the construction which is here inspecifically described to illustrate the principles of the invention,all without departing from the spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. A housing for the liquid supplying apparatus of a liquid levelmaintaining system of the type involving a constant level supplyreceptacle, aliquid supply bottle, a device in which the liquid level ismaintained. and a conduit for supplying liquid from said constant levelreceptacle to the said device; said housing comprising, in combination,a sheet metal cabinet for enclosing and protecting said receptacle andbottle and from which, said conduit extends, and a support for carryingsaid receptacle and holding said bottle in inverted, liquid-sealed,supply relation' thereto, said support being secured to a wall of saidcabinet and being vertically adjustable therein to raise or lower theliquid level in said device.

2; A. housing for the liquid supplying apparatus of a liquid levelmaintaining system of the-type embodying a constant level supplyreceptacle, a liquid supply bottle adapted to be held in inverted,liquid-sealed, supply relation to said receptacle, a device in which theliquid level ismaintained, and a conduit for supplying liquid from saidconstant level receptacle to the said device; said housing comprising,in combination, a sheet metal cabinet having a compartment foraccommodating said receptacle and bottle and adapted for verticaladjustment of the same therein to raise and lower the liquid level insaid device, means in said cabinet for effecting said verticaladjustment to raise or lower said level, and a door for said compartmentadapted to open the same for removal and installation of the bottle, thecabinet providing an enclosing and protecting casing for the bottle andreceptacle from which only said conduit leads.

3. A housing for the liquid supplying ap-' paratus of a liquid levelmaintaining system of the type embodying a constant level supplyreceptacle, and a supply reservoir adapted to supply liquid through asupply conduit to a device in which the liquid level is maintained; saidhousing comprising in combination a cabinet for enclosing and protectingsaid supply receptacle and reservoir and from which said conduitextends,

and means within said cabinet for supporting said receptacle andvertically adjustable to raise and lower the liquid level in saiddevice.

4. A housing for the liqu d supplying apparatus of a liquid levelmaintaining burner system of the type embodying a constant level liquidreceptacle, and a supply reservoir, adapted to supply liquid through asupply conduit to a device in which the liquid level is maintained; saidhousing comprising, in combination, an enclosing casing for covering andprotecting said receptacle and reservoir and from which said conduitextends, and a support for said reservoir mounted for verticaladjustment on a wall of said casingto raise or lower said reservoir andthus raise or lower the liquid level in said device.

5. A housing for the liquid supplying apparatus of a liquid levelmaintaining system of the type embodying a constant level supplyreceptacle, and a supply reservoir,v

adapted to supply liquidthrough a supply conduit to a device in whichthe liquid level is maintained; said housing'comprising, in

combination, a sheet metal cabinet for 'enclosing and protecting saidsupply receptacle and reservoir and fromwhich said conduit extends,anunderlying tank within said cabinet adapted to receive liquid leakage,and 5 deflecting means between the tank and the receptacle to directliquid leakage into the voir and from which said conduit extends, and anunderlying tank within said cabinet adapted to receive liquid leakage. 17. A housing for the liquid supplying apparatus of a liquidlevel'maintaining system of the typeembodying a constant level supplyreceptacle, and a supply reservoir, adapted to supply liquid through asupply conduit to'a device in which the liquid level is maintained; saidhousing comprising, in

combination, va sheet metal container for enclosing and protecting saidreceptacle and reservoir and from which said conduit extends, means foropening the side of the container to permit placement and removal ofsaid reservoir, and means within said container underlying saidreceptacle for holding liquid leakage. I 8. A housing for the liquidsupplying apparatus of a liquid level maintaining system of the typeembodying a constant level supply receptacle, and a supply reservoir,adapted tosupply liquid through a supply conduit to a device in whichthe liquid level is maintained; said housing comprising, in combination,a cabinet for surrounding said supply receptacle and reservoir and fromwhich said conduit extends, means presented by the interiorof thecabinet for holding the receptacle and reservoir, a hinged door for theside wall of the cabinet, a top therefor, and means connecting the doorand the top to open the top away from the door side of the cabinet whenthe door is opened to thus present two adjacent open sides facilitatingplacement and removal of said reservoir.

9. A housing for the liquid supplying apparatus of a liquid levelmaintaining system of the type embodying a constant level supplyreceptacle, and a supply bottle, adapted'to supply liquid through asupply conduit to a device in which the liquid level is maintained; saidhousing comprising, in combination, a cabinet for surrounding saidsupply receptacle and reservoir and from which said conduit extends,means presented by the interior of the cabinet for holding thereceptacle and reservoir, an openable side wall on the cabinet, anopenable top therefor, and means for opening both the side wall and thetop of the cabinet for installation or removal of the supply bottle.

'10. A'housing for the liquid supplying apparatus of a liquid levelmaintaining system of the type embodying a constant level supplyreceptacle provided with a supply reservoir and havingconnected to it asupply conduit for the device in which the liquid level is maintained:said housing comprising, in combination, a cabinet for enclosing andprotecting said supply receptacle and reservoir and having a verticalslot in its wall through which said conduit extends, and means withinsaid cabinet for supporting said receptacle and vertically adjustable toraise and lower the liquid level in said device, said slot providing forvertical movement of said conduit therein during raising or lowering ofsaid receptacle.

11. A housing for the liquid supplying apparatus of a liquidlevelmaintaining system of the type embodying a constant level supplyreceptacle, and a supply reservoir, adapted to supply liquid through asupply conduit to a device in which the liquid level is maintained; saidhousing comprising an openable casing for removably receiving saidreservoir in inverted, liquid sealed supply relation to said receptacleto maintain the constant level therein, said casing serving to encloseand protect said reservoir when positioned therein and comprising anopenable side wall and an openable top constituting the entire casingstructure across the top and side portions of the casing closed therebyand at the zone of meeting of said side and top portions of the casing,and opening in a manner providing an open space continuously extendingin said top and side portions and across the zone of meeting thereof,thereby facilitating vertical and lateral movement of said reservoirduring removal and placement of the same as aforesaid.

12. The combination, with liquid supplying apparatus of the typeembodying a constant level supply receptacle provided with a deliveryconduit for supplying liquid to a device in which a liquid level ismaintained, and further embodying a supply reservoir adapted to bepositioned in inverted, liquidsealed supply relation to said receptacle,'of a housing comprising an openable casing removably receiving saidreservoir in said inverted, liquid-sealed supply relation to saidreceptacle to maintain the constant level therein, said casing servingto enclose and protect said reservoir when positioned therein andcomprising an openable side wall and an openable top constituting theentire casing structure across the top and side portions of the casingclosed thereby and at the zone of meeting of said side and top portions,and opening in a manner providing an open space continuously extendingin said top and side portions and across the zone of meeting thereof tofacilitate combined vertical and lateral movement of the reservoirduring re moval and placement of the same as aforesaid.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

FREDERICK F. NEUMANN.

